The Republic of Thorn179 is a mammoth, efficient nation, renowned for its parental licensing program, absence of drug laws, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed, humorless, devout population of 8.275 billion Thorn179ians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Administration, and Defense. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 67.0%.

The frighteningly efficient Thorn179ian economy, worth a remarkable 1,182 trillion florins a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Information Technology, Furniture Restoration, and Tourism. Black market activity is rampant. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 142,938 florins, with the richest citizens earning 6.6 times as much as the poorest.

Fancy dress parties are raided by military police for new recruits, the volume of paperwork used to complete a single environmental assessment defeats the purpose, search-and-rescue organisations are the biggest employer in the country, and billions of florins are being blown on orbital weapons development. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Thorn179's national animal is the dove, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Thorn179 is ranked 106,336^th in the world and 4^th in United Nations Space Conmand for Largest Cheese Export Sector, scoring 3,104.25 on the Mozzarella Productivity Index.